Variant Dungeon Guide for The Merchant's Tale

Released with Patch 7.45 on March 3rd, 2026, The Merchant's Tale is a new Variant and Criterion (V/C) Dungeon. This V/C dungeon features some dramatic revisions to the V/C system that had previously been released with Endwalker.

The previous three V/C dungeons followed the system of having a Variant dungeon that had multiple paths to take, and each path brought the players to a different boss or changed certain outcomes during the dungeon. Following that, the players could enter the Criterion mode of the dungeon, which was a linear dungeon without choices, in which players typically fought three bosses, each with packs of enemies known as trash mobs prior to reaching the boss. Finally, players could attempt the Savage version of the Criterion mode of the dungeon, which was essentially the same as the Criterion mode, but with enemies having more HP, doing significantly more damage, and players being unable to resurrect at all if KO'd any time during the dungeon.

This system has been done away with and replaced with a new system. Previous V/C dungeons will remain the same, but new V/C dungeons will follow the new system.

This version of the V/C dungeons will remain unchanged, allowing players to enter the dungeon and choose their own path. Players will still be able to complete the dungeon alone or with a party of up to four players. Your choices during the dungeon will determine which boss you end up facing, as well as what mechanics the boss does. Completing all possible routes will still offer an additional reward, likely a mount.

Additionally, players will be able to enter this version of The Merchant's Tale starting at level 90, and completion will reward experience points to level up. While in the instance, players will be synced to level 100, even if they are below 100.

This is the first of the major changes to the V/C system. Players can attempt this version of the dungeon with two to four players, with the difficulty automatically adjusting based on how many players enter the dungeon. You cannot attempt this version solo. Players also must be level 100 to enter this version of the dungeon. In this mode, there is no exploration and no trash mobs. Three bosses will be present, and players can choose which order to engage them in. Each boss has its own rewards, and defeating all three bosses will yield an additional reward. Players can choose to only defeat one or two bosses and then leave as well. Yoshida claims that the difficulty of the bosses in this Advanced version will be "slightly above" their difficulty in the regular Variant version of the dungeon.

Criterion Dungeons are no longer the middle tier difficulty in the new V/C system. Now, Criterion will be the highest level of difficulty, similar to the previous Savage version of the dungeon. This version of the dungeon requires four players, and can only be entered by players that are level 100. Furthermore, this version of the dungeon forces a party composition of 1 Tank, 1 Healer, and 2 DPS, unless entered with a pre-formed party.

In this mode, the dungeon is linear and the bosses must be killed in order. Trash mobs and exploration are still excluded in this mode. Similar to the previous Savage version, players will have restrictions on Resurrection after being KO'd. Yoshida claims that this version of the dungeon is "very high difficulty," which is expected to be on par with the difficulty of the previous Savage versions of the V/C dungeons.

The variant version of this V/C must be unlocked first, which can be done by completing the quest "A Spellbinding Read". This quest can be picked up in Old Sharlayan (X:12.0, Y:13.3) from the NPC Shallow Moor. This quest has the prerequisites of completing the MSQ quest "Endwalker", and can be picked up by a Disciple of War or Magic of level 90 or higher. This version of the V/C dungeon can be accessed by a party of 1-4 Disciple of War or Magic characters of at least level 90, and two Variant Actions per person can be selected to help with the dungeon.

As with the previous variant dungeons, The Merchant's Tale has twelve main paths and one secret path. Completing each path fills in one of the Corvosi Folklore Records, found in the V/C duty menu. There are three primary routes, and the choices within each route determine which specific path you will complete. Each primary route ends with the players fighting a boss specific to that primary route. As each path begins with choosing the primary route, these routes will be referred to as Residential, Market, or Gate Routes. Residential routes include paths 1-4, Market routes include paths 5-8, and Gate routes include paths 9-12. The secret 13th path is considered one of the Market routes, but will be discussed separately as it leads to a secret and unique fourth boss.

During this route, players will either encounter the Genie of the Lamp or Rukhkh as the first boss depending on if they chose to follow the apples or to take the other path. This choice is irrelevant to which Folklore Record gets completed, so feel free to pick which one you want each time. The party will encounter Pari of Plenty as the final boss for each path in this route. Each boss's mechanics will be discussed in a later section.

After defeating the first boss, follow the path and defeat the mobs that appear. Then, look for the Damaged Fence.

Interact with it, then go through the path that it opened. Soon you will come across a bird's nest with some chicks inside. Wait near the nest for a green Willful Wind to spawn. Attack it, causing it to get angry and start a large point-blank AoE. Proceed with the rest of the dungeon and defeat Pari of Plenty.

For this path, do everything the same as the previous path, except this time do not attack the Willful Wind, allowing it to steal the apple from the nest. After this happens, progress normally and defeat Pari of Plenty.

For this path, progress to where the Damaged Fence is from the previous two routes, but ignore it. Instead, follow the main path through the gate. Once you get to the Airy Wisp enemy, look for the crumbling white fence to the left of the large doors.

Stand against the fence. Eventually, the Wisps will cast Ancient Aero, targeting the player with aggro with a line AoE that follows the player until the cast finishes. Once the cast finishes, the fence will be destroyed. Defeat the Wisps and continue through the now-opened fence. From there proceed normally and defeat Pari to complete the Record.

Like the previous path, progress to the Damaged Fence and ignore it, continuing through the main path. Do not interact with anything else, and stick to the main path, killing the Airy Wisps without destroying the white fence, before defeating Pari to complete this Record.

During this route, players will encounter the bosses Genie of the Lamp and Darya the Sea-maid. Their mechanics will be discussed in a later section.

Progress through the dungeon normally until you come to the choice between the seaweed or the beach. Select "The seaweed won't steer us wrong." Continue along the path until you find a purple Goobue. The player with aggro should face it so that when it does its Inhale conal AoE, it sucks up the piles of colorful stones on the ground.

Repeat this as many times as needed to suck up all of the stones, then defeat the Goobue. Continue progressing, and do not interact with the Letter in a Bottle. Finish the dungeon from this point by defeating Darya to complete the Record.

Like the previous path, progress through the dungeon and select "The seaweed won't steer us wrong." When you encounter the Goobue, face it so that it does not suck up any colorful stones, and defeat it. After this, progress through the dungeon and defeat Darya.

Select the Market route at the beginning of the dungeon, then progress normally until you are given the choice between the seaweed or the beach. Select "I'd fancy a stroll on the beach." Next, find the Giant Conch Shell and interact with it.

Once you have done this, progress to the boss and face Darya the Sea-maid.

For this route, progress through the dungeon after selecting the Market route at the beginning. When you come across the choice between the seaweed or the beach, select "I'd fancy a stroll on the beach." Continue through the dungeon and ignore the Giant Conch Shell, then defeat Darya the Sea-maid.

During this route, players will encounter the bosses Rukhkh and The Lone Swordmaster. Their mechanics will be discussed in a later section.

After selecting the Gate option, progress through the dungeon normally until you reach the choice between the mushrooms or the floating rocks. Select the choice "Let the mushrooms guide us true!" You will enter a cave with a single Stone Puppet enemy. Do not kill this enemy right away. Instead, lure it to a cluster of spiked rocks and wait for it to cast Magnetic Rock.

This will target the player with aggro with a small point-blank AoE. Ensure that the player targeted stands next to the cluster of spiked rocks. If done correctly, the rock will glow purple. Repeat this until all three clusters in the cave are glowing, which will open a side passage with a note in it. Proceed to defeat the Lone Swordmaster to complete the Record.

Follow the same steps as the previous Record, but this time kill the Stone Puppet without hitting any of the clusters with Magnetic Rock. After that, proceed to the Swordmaster and defeat her.

For this path, select the Gate route at the beginning and progress through the dungeon until you are presented with the choice between mushrooms or floating rocks. Select the choice "Floating rocks warrant a closer look." When the enemies spawn, drag them to each of the three gray rocks sticking out of some of the platforms.

The rock will begin to flash red, and then will glow red/purple. Repeat this until all three have changed color and the text "The magnetism of the atmosphere shifts..." appears. Once this happens, proceed to defeat the Lone Swordmaster to complete the path.

For this path, simply progress through the dungeon after choosing the Gate route at the beginning. Once you come across the choice between mushrooms or floating rocks, select the choice "Floating rocks warrant a closer look." Once the enemies spawn, kill them in the open, away from the large rocks sticking out of the platforms. Finally, defeat the Lone Swordmaster to complete the path.

In this final route, the party will encounter the Deadly Dandan, a unique boss that can only be encountered by doing this specific path. This boss's mechanics will be discussed in the next section.

For this route, choose the Market at the beginning, then proceed through the dungeon until the party is prompted to choose the seaweed or the beach. Choose "The seaweed won't steer us wrong." and proceed until the party reaches the Tangled Seaweed Barrier. Do not interact with it. Instead, go to the round platform to the right of the barrier. Stand on the platform and perform /bow. This will make five colors light up. Next, in say chat, type "I am returned!" This will make five shapes appear. Stand on four of them in the following order: Coral, Conch, Starfish, Pearl. Doing so in the correct order will play a melody, and a secret pathway will open. Follow the path and confront the Deadly Dandan.

As players progress through each route in The Merchant's Tale, they will confront two bosses. The first boss they confront will either be the Genie of the Lamp or Rukhkh, depending on which route and choices they made during the dungeon. The second boss they confront is determined by which primary route the players picked at the beginning of the dungeon. Pari of Plenty will be encountered if the party chose any of the Residential paths, The Lone Swordmaster for any of the Gate paths, Darya the Sea-maid for any of the Market paths, and Deadly Dandan only if the party completed all of the 13th path's steps. Below is a list of each boss and their mechanics, what they do, and how to resolve them if applicable.

Genie is encountered as the first boss the party faces in any Market route, and will be encountered on Residential routes if the party decides not to follow the apples. Genie does the following mechanics:

1. Fabulous Firecrackers: Genie will turn both of his arms into fireworks, and one of the two will glow brightly. The side glowing brightly will do a half-room cleave, while the side that isn’t glowing will do a conal AoE directly to the side, leaving the intercardinals on the same side safe.
2. Parade of Wonders: Room-wide damage AoE.
3. Spectacular Sparks: the boss will summon two sets of cannons on the east and west sides of the room. Whichever side appeared first will go off first, doing a line AoE across the room. Start in front of the second set of cannons and rotate into the first set after they go off.
4. A Sailor's Tale: the boss will summon three airships with tracks showing where they will go. The outer two tracks have a Y in them that connects to the middle track. The tracks glow to show the path the airship will take.
5. Chart Course: the boss will tether a switch next to one of the outer tracks. At the end of the track, he will switch the Y, making the airship go straight instead of taking the merge into the middle track. This leaves only one safe spot on the side where the track did not get switched.
6. Explosive Ending: Room-wide damage AoE.
7. Fanning Flame: the boss will telegraph two sets of alternating conal AoEs. Start in the second set and rotate into the first set.
8. Rub Burn: this is a tankbuster on the player with aggro.
9. Supernatural Surprise: room-wide damage AoE.

Genie will also do one of three sets of mechanics in the middle of the fight depending on if you encountered him after the Residential route or the Market route:

1. If you encounter him on the Residential route, Genie will use Pyromagicks, which will spawn Exaflare-like AoEs that will explode as they travel across the room. Start in the row that will go off second, and dodge horizontally into the first row as the AoE passes. Then, do the same from the first row to the second, as Genie will continue to alternate AoE spawns a few times. At some point during this mechanic, he will cast Lamp Lighting, which will do a frontal line AoE.
2. If you encounter him on the Market route, killing the Blue Bomb enemies inside the cave before his boss room will cause parts of the walls to collapse. This will cause several Dousing Spirits to spawn along two of the walls during the boss battle. Each will do a frontal line AoE. Dodge this by standing in a spot where there is a gap in the lineup on each wall. This will happen twice in a row, and the second time, Genie will cast Lamp Oil, causing some of the safe spots to be covered by AoEs. Find the spot that is safe from both the AoEs and the lines from the Spirits to resolve the mechanic correctly.
3. If you encounter him on the Market route, but take the Blue Bomb enemies outside of the cave before killing them, Genie will instead use Rainbow Road. This will summon two large AoEs that will travel slowly on a rainbow and then explode again. Genie will also cast Fanning Flame during this mechanic at some point.

Rukhkh is encountered as the first boss the party faces in any Gate route and may be encountered during some Residential routes depending on the choice the party picks prior to the first boss. Rukhkh does the following mechanics:

1. Sphere of Sand: the boss summons three balls of sand in a triangle around the center of the room. These will later explode in a point-blank style AoE, the size of which is determined by a later mechanic.
2. Sandplume: the boss fires conal AoEs around the room that must be dodged. If a cone hits a Sphere of Sand ball, the explosion from the sand ball is much larger.
3. Sand Burst: the boss detonates the sand balls summoned by Sphere of Sand, the size of which is determined by if it was hit by a Sandplume cone or not.
4. Banishing Mist: the boss will either make itself invisible, or instead will turn one or more sand balls created by Sphere of Sand invisible. If this occurs during Sphere of Sand, remember which ball or balls became invisible, and keep track of whether or not they were hit by Sandplume cones. If the boss made itself untargetable, it will leave behind a cloudy particle effect where it is, and then will reappear and cast a massive point-blank AoE that can be avoided by being on the opposite side of the room from it.
5. Biting Scratch: the boss will end this cast with a massive frontal cone AoE that can be avoided by being to the boss's sides or rear.
6. Streaming Sands: this is a room-wide damage AoE.

Some mechanics will only appear depending on the specific route the player is taking when encountering Rukhkh:

If encountering Rukhkh on a Residential route:

1. At some point, the boss will cast Windborne Seeds, which will summon seeds in a 3x3 pattern around the room. There will be one seed missing, this is the safe spot for later.
2. Next the boss will use Banishing Mist to turn the seeds invisible, players need to remember where the missing seed was.
3. The boss will then cast Dry Typhoon which will spawn a rotating series of conal AoEs from the boss. Dodge the cones near the safe spot.
4. Finally, the boss will cast Seedsprout, causing all of the seeds to explode in a point blank AoE that is avoided by being in the safe spot identified earlier.

If encountering Rukhkh on a Gate route instead:

1. At some point, the thieves that you defeated earlier at the beginning of the dungeon will appear and spawn three Cherry Bombs around the room. These will do proximity damage.
2. Text will appear on screen that says "A deep rumbling sound comes from the cliffs..." and there will be arrows that show up from the nearby cliff. After a moment, boulders will roll down the cliff following the arrows. Do not stand in the path of an arrow.
3. Another set of arrows and boulders will occur, this time while the boss casts Biting Scratch.

Pari of Plenty is the final boss of any Residential route, and does the following mechanics:

1. Heat Burst: room-wide damage AoE.
2. Flying Carpet: the boss summons a magic carpet that she will use throughout the fight.
3. Fireflight: the boss will telegraph three lines that she will dash along using the magic carpet she previously summoned. Standing in the path results in a Vulnerability Up debuff and damage.
4. Sun Circlet: at the end of the Fireflight, the boss will cast a large AoE that will cover the entire room, except for where she is. Make sure to move to the boss as she finishes Fireflight to dodge this.
5. Left/Right Fireflight: Two/Three Nights: first, the boss will telegraph a line AoE off to the side while telegraphing either a clockwise or counterclockwise arrow. For Two Nights, she will telegraph two arrows, and for Three Nights she will telegraph three. The starting line AoE will sweep in a half room cleave in the direction that was first telegraphed. Then again from its new position in the second direction. For Three Nights, then it will do so one more time. Start on the safe side that is not being cleaved. If the next arrow was the same as the first, cross into the side that was just cleaved. If the arrow is the opposite as the first, you can stay on the safe side as the first side to get cleaved will get cleaved again. If there is one more hit, pay attention as well to if the arrows for the second and third are the same or opposite, and dodge the same way.
6. Charming Baubles: spawns a red gem that will do a line AoE directly north to south, as well as directly east to west, forming a plus. The boss will use these gems multiple times combined with other mechanics, so watch out.
7. Spurning Flames: room-wide damage AoE that puts a buff on the boss called Fury. This buff seems to allow her to use Impassioned Sparks and has no other effect.
8. Impassioned Sparks: the boss will summon several sets of fireballs that will expand on the ground before exploding. Avoid standing in the fire circle when it fully expands and explodes.
9. Scouring Scorn: room-wide damage AoE that removes the Fury buff.

Pari of Plenty will do different mechanics during the fight based on which specific path the party has taken.

1. If the party is on Record 1, five wind spirits similar to the one that was stopped at the bird's nest will appear. They will move to have one in each corner of the room, as well as one in the center, and then begin telegraphing huge point-blank AoEs. Initially, they will cover the entire room, but then the mama bird from the nest will appear and the text "A massive bird seems to be fighting on your behalf!" will show on the screen. The bird will cast a line AoE that will destroy three of the spirits, leaving two corners of the room safe. The remaining two spirits will move to the sides of the room and begin casting again, but the mama bird will destroy them before their cast can finish.
2. For Record 2, the wind spirit and mama bird will spawn. The spirit will channel a large point blank AoE, and then get jumped on by the bird. After the bird jumps, the spirit will reposition. Each jump causes a large AoE. The jump repeats four times, with the spirit moving between each jump, so pay attention to their path to avoid being in the AoEs.
3. On Record 3, a large wind spirit similar to the Airy Wisps the party faced outside appears and telegraphs a large AoE with an arrow to show that the AoE will move. A large wind tornado spawns and follows the path of the arrow. This repeats a couple times during which the boss also spawns Charming Baubles.
4. If following Record 4, the boss will summon four magic carpets and three Charming Baubles. The carpets will each cover a gem, leaving one without a gem, before shuffling places a few times. Keep track of the one without a gem and go to it. The gems will resolve immediately after this, leaving a safe spot under the carpet that had no gem.

The Lone Swordmaster is the final boss of any Gate route, and does the following mechanics:

1. Malefic Quartering: a circle appears around each player that is split into quadrants. One or two of the quadrants will be red, indicating that you cannot get hit by a mechanic from that side without failing the mechanic. The circle is a fixed true north orientation and does not rotate based on player facing.
2. Vanishing Horizon: the boss will telegraph two conal AoEs.
3. Will of the Underworld: blades of aether will spawn on opposite walls and telegraph a half room cleave each. The cleave will have arrows in it to show the direction. Stand inside the cleave so that your red Malefic Quartering quadrant is not facing the direction a cleave is coming from.
4. Crusher of Lions: the boss will channel four 90 degree conal AoEs that will also have arrows. Position yourself so that your red quadrant is not facing the boss.
5. Earth-rending Eight: two large AoEs will spawn on the ground in opposite corners of the arena. Each will explode in a "starburst" pattern of telegraphed line AoEs. Stand 90 degrees from one of the AoEs near the center of the room to dodge easily.
6. Waiting Wounds: the boss spawns three sets of AoEs that explode in the order they appear. Start in the third set and dodge into the first for an easy dodge.
7. Heavens' Confluence: one player is marked with a spread AoE. At the same time the boss will do a point-blank AoE followed by a donut AoE, or a donut AoE followed by a point-blank AoE.
8. Unyielding Will: Aetherial blades will spawn on the outside of the room and will adjust themselves so that the AoE they form is always a perfect L with the player. Position so that the AoE will not hit a red side of your Malefic Quartering circle.
9. Shifting Horizon: the boss will channel two alternating sets of conal AoEs. Start in the second set and rotate into the first. This is followed immediately by another Unyielding Will.
10. Steelsbreath Release: a room-wide damage AoE that triggers a different mechanic specific to which path the party is currently on. See "Swordmaster's Route Specific Mechanics" for an explanation of each variation.
11. Maw of the Wolf: half room cleave.
12. Sting of the Scorpion: tankbuster on the player with aggro.
13. Will of the Underworld II: same as the first time except this time the arena is broken into quadrants, and your circle has two red spots instead of one. Resolve by making sure your non-red sides are facing the direction the AoEs will come from in your quadrant.

The Lone Swordmaster will do different mechanics after Steelsbreath Release depending on which specific path the party is on.

1. If the party is doing Record 9, players will receive either a Positive Charge or Negative Charge debuff. The room will divide into four quadrants, and each quadrant will also have a charge. Players standing in a quadrant that matches their charge will levitate. The boss will cast Concentrativity, which will do a knockback that cannot be stopped by Surecast or Arm's Length. Players who are levitating will be knocked into the wall, while players on a quadrant of opposite charge will not get knocked back very far, resolving the mechanic correctly.
2. For Record 10, the boss will summon multiple telegraphed circle AoEs. She will also cast Heavens' Confluence at the same time, and finish up the mechanic with a proximity AoE in one corner of the room. To resolve this, position to dodge the AoEs on the floor while also resolving Heavens' Confluence and avoid the proximity damage from the corner of the room.
3. If the party is doing Record 11, players will receive either a Positive Charge or Negative Charge debuff. One magnetic rock will spawn in each corner of the room, each with a charge as well. Each player will be tethered to a random rock. If a player is the same charge as the rock, they will be pushed away from the rock, while a player with an opposite charge will be pulled toward it. Players will be stunned for a few seconds after the push/pull. At the same time as the players are stunned, the boss will cast Concentrativity, which will do a knockback that cannot be stopped by Surecast or Arm's Length. Each player should position so that they will not get knocked into the wall by Concentrativity while stunned.
4. If the party is doing Record 12, four boulders will spawn with the same Malefic Quartering rings that the players get. Players will have two opposite quadrants of their ring red. Aetherial blades will spawn and telegraph arrows, causing players to need to identify which boulder is safe for them to hide behind. A boulder that is getting hit on its red side will crumble and not protect the players.

Darya is the final boss of any Market route, and does the following mechanics:

1. Piercing Plunge: room-wide damage AoE.
2. Familiar Call: the boss will summon blue and yellow minions along the north wall.
3. Echoed Serenade: the boss will display a music score with pictures of minions she summoned in a specific order. This order determines the order that the minions will fire a line AoE in front of them. For example, if the boss shows blue then yellow, then the blue minions will shoot first, followed immediately by the yellow minions. Remember the order, because at the end of the cast the score will vanish and the minions will fire.
4. Surging Current: the boss will telegraph water gathering in front of her and then fire a large cleave in the direction she is telegraphing.
5. Swimming in the Air: Darya will swim around the arena, leaving behind markers. Once all of the markers are placed, they will explode in point-blank AoEs. Two corners of the room will not have a marker and are safe.
6. Sunken Treasure: summons orbs of water around the arena. Some orbs will crack first, meaning they will explode first. Move toward the orbs that cracked second and then move to where the first orbs were after they explode to resolve the mechanic.
7. Aqua Ball: drops small AoEs where the players are standing that explode after a couple seconds.
8. Receding/Encroaching Twintides: the boss will either telegraph a point-blank AoE or a donut AoE first. After this first AoE goes off, she will then immediately do the opposite. Pay attention to which is first, and move out/in accordingly.
9. Hydrocannon: line AoE tankbuster on the player with aggro.

Darya the Sea-maid will do different mechanics during the fight depending on which specific path the players have taken.

1. On Record 5, Darya will cast Familiar Call and Echoed Serenade at some point, and four purple Goobues will appear, two on each east and west wall. During the Echoed Serenade, these Goobue will fire slow moving orbs toward players that will damage and apply Vulnerability Up if touched.
2. While following Record 6, the boss will cast Aqua Spear, which will make several of the tiles of the arena unsafe. She will also cast Alluring Order, which will apply a Forced March debuff that has a directional arrow on it. She will cast another Aqua Ball, giving the players a couple seconds to position for their Forced March. Players will travel about three floor tiles distance, so they should position to make sure they avoid the water tiles and not get forced into the wall.
3. During Record 7, Darya will cast Big Wave, which will summon a pillar of water on one side of the room, and make three tiles on the opposite side of the room unsafe with an AoE. The pillar of water is a strong knockback that will send players from one side of the room to the other. Players should position so that they will be knocked into a safe tile along the opposite wall. Being too far from the wall being knocked back will send the players into the opposite wall, applying a heavy Dropsy damage over time debuff.
4. For Record 8, the boss will cast Ceaseless Current. This will telegraph line AoE waves with arrows. Each wave will hit an entire row of tiles, then move to the next row and explode again, repeating this until it is out of the arena. She will summon two waves, one on the east or west wall, and one on the north or south wall. Dodge into a tile after it gets hit to be safe, and repeat for the second wave.

The Deadly Dandan is the secret boss that can only be encountered by completing Corvosi Folklore Record 13: The Eye of the Beholder. It has the following mechanics:

1. Murky Waters: room-wide damage AoE.
2. Devour: before casting this, the boss will telegraph arrows to show which direction it will use this ability. Then, it will rotate around the room for a little bit before casting. At the end of the cast, the boss will dash across the room in the direction of the arrows it showed, swallowing any player in its path. This is an instant kill mechanic if a player is caught in its path, so be careful to avoid it.
3. Spit: the boss will telegraph a very wide conal AoE, leaving only small portions of the wall on either side of it safe. At the same time, each player is marked with a pink point-blank AoE that will resolve shortly after Spit finishes.
4. Stinging Tentacle: the boss will telegraph two rotating line AoEs. During the cast there is a countdown. At the end of the cast and countdown, the line AoEs fire. Pay attention to how they are rotating and plan to be in a safe spot at the end of the cast.
5. Strewn Bubbles: bubble AoEs will spawn on the sides of the arena and float in a straight line across the arena. Avoid touching them as doing so will suck the player in, apply a heavy damage over time debuff, and cause the player to be unable to act.
6. Maw of the Deep: spawns three sets of AoEs that will explode in the order they appeared. Start in the second or third set and dodge into the first to avoid being hit.
7. Unfathomable Horror: spawns two orbs that explode in an Earthquake style expanding AoE that will telegraph each ring before it hits. Dodge into a point where both AoEs overlap to be safe from both.
8. Tidal Guillotine: at some point in the fight, the boss will become untargetable and a message will appear on the screen "The Dandan moves to attack from beneath the water's surface..." During this time, the boss will move under part of the arena, where it will cast Tidal Guillotine before exploding in a massive point-blank AoE.
9. Swallowed Sea: this mechanic is exactly the same as Spit, but only happens after Tidal Guillotine.

After Tidal Guillotine, the boss will start to combine mechanics, such as doing Strewn Bubbles, Unfathomable Horror, and Devour all at the same time.

Completing all of the Corvosi Folklore Records awards the achievement A Storied Collection, which allows the players to claim the fashion accessory The Faces We Wear - Comfortable Eye Mask from the achievement's menu. This duty uses personal rewards, meaning each player gets their own unique rewards each time, rather than a shared loot pool using the Need/Greed system. Throughout the duty, each boss can drop a Triple Triad card of itself, and the Personal Spoils chests can drop the following items:

Item Name	Type
Corvosi Potsherd	Currency
Magic Lamp	Minion
Little Mermaid	Minion
Corvosi Parasol	Fashion Accessory
Magicked Prism (Ribbons)	Misc. Consumable
Corvosi Crystal	Housing Item
Corvosi Fan	Housing Item
Corvosi Sofa	Housing Item
Green Corvosi Carpet	Housing Item
Purple Corvosi Carpet	Housing Item
Imitation Corvosi Shisha	Housing Item

Additionally, Corvosi Potsherds can be exchanged for the following rewards at the vendor Trisassant, found in Old Sharlayan (X:12.0, Y:13.3):

Item Name	Type	Corvosi Potsherd Cost
Story-lover's Bandana	Glamour	9
Story-spinner's Headdress	Glamour	9
Story-lover's Top	Glamour	12
Story-spinner's Chestwrap	Glamour	12
Story-lover's Armlets	Glamour	6
Story-spinner's Chaplets	Glamour	6
Story-lover's Sarouel	Glamour	9
Story-spinner's Sarouel	Glamour	9
Story-lover's Sandals	Glamour	6
Story-spinner's Sandals	Glamour	6
Ballroom Etiquette - Saving Face	Emote	9
Worthy Pursuits Orchestrion Roll	Orchestrion Roll	9